(MINERVA) THE FUTURE OF HUMAN GOVERNANCE: ASSESSING CHINA S AMBITIONS TO PROLIFERATE AI-ENABLED AUTHORITARIANISM
Abstract
The concept of power in the social sciences continues to shift from the more traditional and utilitarian Hobbesian thinking “present means, to obtain some future apparent good” to cultural hegemony, and humanistic and post-modern thoughts on the body, self, and agency like Foucault’s work on institutionalism and identity.1 The interdisciplinary nature of power has created a narrowing of the concept within individual disciplines while the very nature of power becomes increasingly complex, requiring a multi-disciplinary approach to increase understanding. The shift in power constructs has not occurred in a hermetically sealed academic environment but in concert with the world at large. With the advance of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and social media, the nature of power, and consequently governance, are undergoing a fundamental change. The reach of state and non-state actors has increased while individual rights and privacy have been on the wane. Theory has not kept pace with this changing environment in any one discipline. Anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology have not yet contributed to create a more “power literate” population. This research will center on developing basic theory focused on recent developments in technology and the impact on human agency and power. It will build on foundations laid within the social science literature examining the dialectic between technological advances and cultural norms and will add to these a specific emphasis on political power. Our proposed work addresses an area of principal concern presented by the 2018 US National Defense Strategy, which warns of the re-emergence of long-term strategic competition with revisionist powers, including China. One of the primary modes through which China intends to “shape a world consistent with [its] authoritarian model”2 is the refinement and export of AI-enabled authoritarian governance technologies. Beijing’s early attention to and investment in the development of AI infrastructure and expertise at home and across its partnerships abroad is part of a strategic vision in which China displaces the US as the global technological leader and creates an environment wherein the Chinese government’s norms concerning mass surveillance and the coercive use of data to micromanage citizen behavior becomes more widely accepted. Our work will examine the extent to which the cultural norms of Chinese sponsors impact and shape the societies adopting their AI technologies, and the global implications for governance and the long-term health of democracy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 20, 2023
- Source ID
- FA95502210375
Entities
People
- Jeannie Johnson
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- Utah State University